Too bad the fabulous marquee and the old box office are gone for now, though the rescued "Fox" sign is being held at Downtown Fullerton's Back Alley Bar & Grill for safekeeping until it can be reinstalled on the building.

More cosmetic work includes painting the exterior in a sandstone and rust color palette...

...appropriate to the theater's original "California Gold Rush" theme, though its architectural style is technically considered Italian Renaissance.

Unfortunately when the sign's letters were sent out to the powder coating shop, the heat was set too high and softened the lead that kept the letters together, melting them. They had to be reconstructed as closely to their original specifications as possible.

The entire upstairs is pretty unfinished, including the balcony...

...but from there you get a great view of the newly restored coffered ceiling, with its shiny new rosettes.

When this theater was renovated in the 1950s, a lot of its original ornate elements were covered up, and modern red movie seats were installed.

Funded by grants from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment, loans, and an anonymous benefactor who donated $1 million, the Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation plans to remove all those 1950s seats (which are in rough shape) and install "period-appropriate" seats.

They've worked hard to remove everything that was covering something up...

...and have revealed a number of wall murals in the auditorium and ceiling murals in the lobby which are ghosts of their former selves. The new operators hope to restore and recreate them as much as possible.

The most dazzling part of the restoration in progress is the auditorium's new overhead lighting: the wrought iron chandeliers have been relamped, and colorful LED lighting has been installed (reminiscent of the new work done in the Fox's sister theater, the Chinese in Hollywood).

Apparently the dressing rooms are intact, and the orchestra pit has been expanded, though the organ from the silent movie era is long gone. The Fox will reopen as a performing arts venue, scheduling concerts and shows and other performances and private events as well as movie screenings.

It's been a long time coming, but they're hoping to have enough done by October to start hosting concerts, though the entire restoration will probably take more like five years from now. If all goes as planned, eventually there also will be a restaurant upstairs.

I have no memories of the Fox Fullerton, or any Fox theater at all, so it wasn't nostalgia that brought me there. But everybody loves a comeback story, right? And for me, I can best appreciate the "after" if I got to see the "before" first-hand.